Apparatus for and method of decantation



1&ug. 19, 1924.

- L505759 L. VWILPUTTE APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF DECANTATION Filed Oct. 24 1918 4. Sheets-5heet l x Aug. 19 392%.

" L. WILPUTTE APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF DECANTATION Filed 001;.

24. 19.18 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 19 1924 L. WILPUTTE APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF DECANTA'I'ICN Filed oci. 24. 1918 4 Sheets-Shea? :5

Aug. 19 1924,

r 1,595, 759 L. WILPIJTTE APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF DECANTATION 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 24 19.15

a by-product coke oven plant.

LOUIS WILPUTTE, OF ROCHELLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGDl'OR 0F TWO-THIR-DS ALICE A. WILPUTTE, OF NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR AND METHOD OF DECANTATION.

Application filed October 24, 1918. Serial No. 259,492.

T 0 all whom, it may concern.

B it known that 1, Louis VVILP'UTTE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of NEW Rochelle, in the county of Westchestcr and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for and Methods of Decantation, of.which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to the decantation of liquids of such character that provisions are required for periodically removing deposits settling out of the material passed into the decanting chamber and depositing on the walls thereof. The invention was primarily devised for use in In such a plant, tar is collected from various portions of the plant, and some of the tar thus recovered contains pitch and foreign matter which are removed in whole or in part, by passing the tar through a settling or decanting chamber or tank. The pitch and foreign matter thus removed from the tar in a settlingor decanting tank adheres to the walls of the latter with considerable tenacity andmnless removed from time to time soon clogs up the settling tank.

The object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of and apparatus for decantation suitable for use in purifying tar, which will be simple, reliable and effective, and will permit of eiilcient cleaning of the settling chamber employed as frequently as may be necessary without interfering with the continuous use of the chamber as particularityin the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, and the advantages possessed by it, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter, in'which I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention.

Of the drawings: Fig. 1 is a plan view with parts broken away and in section.

Fig. 2 islan elevation in section on line 2- 2 of Fig. 1 with parts broken away and removed. 1 I V Fig. 3 isan elevation in section on the ,line 3.-3 of Fig. 1..

Fig. 4 is an elevation in section on the broken line H of Fig. 1 with the housing removed.

In the drawings A represents a tank structure, especially designed for use in purifying the tar coming from the hydraulic mains and other tar collecting portions of a lay-product coke oven plant. The tank structure, in the particular form shown, is made out of concrete, and 'is divided into a plurality of similar compartments, A A, A A and A, having cylindrical bottom walls. Each of these compartments 'A to A inclusive is in effect a segment of a cylinder, the axis of which is coaxial with the shaft H, hereinafter referred to.

The tar to be purified passes into the compartment A through the drain pipes B. The compartment A is connected to the compartment A by overflow orifices A", which may be notches in the upper edge of the wall separating the compartments A and A The compartments A and A are connected adjacent their lower ends by a port A through the wall between the compartments. Overflow orifices or notches A are formed in the upper edge of the wall between the compartments A and A, and the compartments-A and A are connected adjacent their lower edges by a port A similar to the port A".

From the compartment A the tar flows through an upper outlet port A into a compartment A. The latter is divided in two halves by a bridge walil fd" with separate suction pump outlets U andE from the two sections. G represents a tar makeup supply line through which purified tar may be returned from storage necessary tothe compartment A in order to insure a supply to the outlet, and]? represents an emergency ov rflo w outlet from the, compartment A discharging into a conduit G running to Waste,

In the ordinary use of the apparatus disclosed the tar withdrawn through. the out-' I let D is recirculated through the hydraulic main of the plant, while the tar withdrawn through the outlet E passes to storage.

. Y H represents, a shaft-journalled in bearings mounted on pier extensions A of the concrete tank structure. The shaft His intermittently rotated I first in one direction and then in theopppsite direction by means of amotor K connected to the shaft H by and fro movements.

speed reducing gearings mounted in housings 1, I and J. The shaft H carries arms L, one for each of the compartmentsA to A inclusive, each arm L is provided at 1ts 5 free end with a -scraper shoe L, which sweeps along thecylindrical wall of the corre ending tank compartment and has radifd edge portions which sweep along the vertical walls of the tank compartment through a zone adjacent to the curved wall of the compartment." The arms L are extended at the opposite side of shaft H from the sore er shoes L to support counter 'wei hts The tank compartments A to A nclusive, the shaft H, the parts carried by the latter are enclosed in a housing M comprising doors M at each end of each of the compartments A to A inclusive. The doors M are normall closed as shown at the left hand side of igs. 1 and 3 but may be manually opened when desirable, each door being provided with a handle M for this purpose. These doors M? are advantageously artially counter-balanced by weights M ach arm L is provided adjacent its scraper shoe L withtransverse projections L which serve to. lift the corresponding doors M into their open positions as the scraper shaft H reaches the op site limits of its to t the opposite ends of the tank compartments A to A? ledges or platform sections A; are advantageously provided to receive the material swept out v of the tank compartments by the scrapers L. A rib A separates each platform section A from a path or walk A alon ide the platform section. Pipes A locate at convenient oints leading downward through the plat orins A, are provided-to carry 40 away material deposited on the platforms A...- i p In operation'the'tar passes successively through the settling tank compartments A ,A, A, A and A a's-hereinbefore explained.-

1 In thus passing through the different com- .Npartments the'pitch and heavier foreign matter settle out in the various compartments. The matter thus settling out of the tar tends to adhere with considerable tenac- QP ity to the bottom walls of the tank compartments, and unless.removed," as already exv plain'ed, would soon fill upthese compartments. This filling u of the tank com- I partments is prevented 'owever with the apfi gparatus described by the scrapers L which are caused to sweep slowly back and forth along the curved bottom walls of the com-' partments between the full and dotted line 'tions'of the scrapers shown in Fig. 3. V n practice a sufficient speed reduction is Iobtained by the gear connections between the 'inotor K-and the shaft H. so that a half hourcr so is required for'the' movement of scrapers between the two positions strewn i.n Fig. 3.- "This slow movement 'pre-.

vents agitation of the tar in the tank compartments which would interfere with the continuous settling out of pitch and impurities from the tar. When the scrapers are in either of the two positions shown in Fig. 3 a workman standing on the walk A may read.- ily remove with ashovel or hoe, the pitch and impurities resting on the then uppermost side of the scra rs L The material thus removed from tli: scrapers may be first deposited on the adjacent platforms A and i then removed from the latter by working it down into the pipe A through which it may fall into wheelbarrows or other removable receptacles Riocated under the plate forms. While the scrapers are making their v following movement through the tank compartments, the same workman who cleans the scrapers may wheelaWay-or otherwise dispose of the material received in the receptacles R. v

Provision may be made forautomatically stopping the motor at the end'of each tank cleaning movement of the shaft H as by means of 'armsH and H carried by the shaft H and a motor controlling device '0 ofknown form actuated thereby.

While in accordance with the provisions of thestatutes I have illustrated and de-' scribed the best mode of carrying out my invention now known to ine those skilled in the art will understand that changes may be made inthe form of my invention without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims, and

that certain features of my invention may sometimes be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as newand desire to secure by etters Patent, is:

, 1. The combination with asettli ng tank divided into a series of communicating compartments arranged side by side and having curved bottom walls, and an inlet connection opening to the tank at one ei1 d and-an outlet connection from the tank at the opposite end of the series of compartments, of a shaft journaled above the tank andcleaning devices carried by the shaft, one for each of said compartments and each caused to sweep along the bottom wall of the cor ,esponding compartment by the. rotation of said shaft.

2. Apparatus for removing pitch and foreign matter from the tar recovered from the vaporized products of a,by-product coke oven comprising in combination a tank structure having a settling chamber formed with a curved bottom Wall and with .a plat: form at one end of said curved wall and a cleaning device pivoted to sweep along the bottom wall of the tank and to carry material swept ofl' the wall to said platform.-- 3.; Decanting apparatus comprising 1ncombination a tank structure formed".with;

v having a curvsol bottom wall and anii'with. a platform at one and of the said curved wall, of a cleaning device pivoted to sweep along saicl curved wall and carry material swept oft" the wall to said platform, the latter being formed with a port, and a receptacle located below the platform and adapted to receive material gassed downward through saicl port. I

The combination with a settling tank a curved bottom wall, of a cleaning (lovice ivoted above the tank and adapted to sweep along said bottom wall, and a housing covering said tank and cleaning device and comprising a door at one end of saici curved wall adapted to be engaged and oncncd by the cleaning is moved into proximity with said tank bottom wall'enol.

5. The improvement in the method of removing by rlccantation pitch and foreign matter from the tar recovered from the vaporized products of a icy-product coking device as the latter consists in maintaining a gentle settling tank and oven, which flow of the tar through a moving a scraper slowly along the. bottomwall of the tank to thereby remove material deposited on'said wall without agitating the tank contents so as to interfere with continuous decantation,

6. Apparatus for removing pitch and foreign matter from the tar recovered from the vaporizedproducts of a by-product coke oven comprising in combination a settling tank having inlet and outlet provisions limiting the normal liquid level therein, and

a concave bottom wall one edge of which extends above the normal liquid level, of mechanical bottom cleaning means comprising. a cleaning member and means for moving it along said bottom wall up to said edge.

Si ed at New York city in the county of 156W York and State of New York this 18th clay of October, A. D. 1918' LOUIS WILPUTTE 

